What if you started planning for the fantasy basketball playoffs right now? What if you’re confident enough to handle the regular season just fine even with a slight handicap? What if at the start of the playoffs, you’re ready to pounce like you’re Jimmy Butler?
If that’s the reality you’d like to be in, you’re in the right place – there’s a list of players picked specifically for the 2023-24 Fantasy NBA playoffs below.
For the sake of this exercise, we’ll assume fantasy playoffs to be weeks 21 to 23.
Week 21-23 schedule
| Team | Games | Team | Games | Team | Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ATL | 11 | HOU | 11 | OKC | 11 |
| BKN | 11 | IND | 11 | ORL | 10 |
| BOS | 11 | LAC | 11 | PHI | 12 |
| CHA | 10 | LAL | 11 | PHX | 10 |
| CHI | 10 | MEM | 10 | POR | 11 |
| CLE | 12 | MIA | 11 | SAC | 12 |
| DAL | 9 | MIL | 10 | SAS | 10 |
| DEN | 10 | MIN | 11 | TOR | 10 |
| DET | 11 | NOP | 11 | UTA | 11 |
| GSW | 11 | NYK | 11 | WAS | 11 |
Dallas players should probably be avoided with only nine games in the three playoff weeks. And by Dallas players I mean the only dependable player on the roster – Luka Doncic. Luka is Luka but 33% fewer games is tough to make up. Perhaps there is a trade to be made at the trade deadline.
The players listed below do not have to be drafted specifically. They can be traded for at the deadline just as well. In fact, looking at the differences in the number of remaining games at the trade deadline can give a slight advantage.
Fantasy Basketball Playoff Targets
Tyrese Maxey, PG/SG – Philadelphia 76ers
With you-know-who playing for who-knows-who this year, Maxey is a solid bet to be the main perimeter threat on the 76ers come fantasy playoff time.
Tobias Harris, SF/PF – Philadelphia 76ers
Harris is always good value-for-money in fantasy. While people bemoan his passivity on the floor and ask “What does he really do?”, he keeps bagging solid top 50 fantasy seasons year after year. With Embiid injury-prone, Harris is a safer bet to last until the end of the season.
Donovan Mitchell, PG/SG – Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cavaliers are likely to be right in the middle of the East playoff race so you wouldn’t expect Mitchell to be shut down at the end of the regular season. Last year he had several (seven in fact) 40+ point games in the last few weeks of the season. No reason for it not to happen this year too with Mitchell surely to be in the scoring title contention.
De’Aaron Fox, PG – Sacramento Kings
Domantas Sabonis, PF/C – Sacramento Kings
The last team with 12 games – The Kings – also project to be in the mix come the end of the season. In fact, it wouldn’t be surprising if every game down the stretch mattered a lot for their playoff hopes. With that said, the best two players from the Kings, Fox and Sabonis, are the obvious picks for the fantasy playoffs. Sabonis played most of the last season with an injured thumb so perhaps he may be relied on to play through injuries in the future as well.
Jordan Poole, PG/SG – Washington Wizards
With the Wizards out of the playoffs before the season begins, you might think Poole is a candidate to be shut down at the end of the season. I don’t think so. The sense I’m getting is that as long as he’s healthy he’ll play every minute and take every shot he can. Can he go for the scoring title? Can he get a 70+ point game?
Jalen Williams, SG/SF – Oklahoma City Thunder
Last season’s rookie of the year (in some people’s eyes) is ready for his sophomore bump. OKC could reasonably be expected to make the play-ins so the last few weeks will have something to play for. I could have just as well picked Shai Gilgeous-Alexander but, c’mon, he’s a top 5 pick already anyway.
Draymond Green, PF/C – Golden State Warriors
Green has a habit of playing himself into shape for the playoffs. Usually, his best games of the regular season do come towards the end. Definitely a buy-low target at some point during the season.
Got a beef with our consensus shooting guard rankings? Let the guys hear about it in the comments below! In the meantime check out all the great analysis in our 2023 Fantasy Basketball Draft Kit!